~ Life on the Green Side

Monthly Archives: August 2016

Figs are old, odd and other worldly. It’s a big genus. Depending on your source, there are 1000+ Ficus species. Figs around humans are an old story and predate the fossil record of wheat, barley and rye. Enthusiasts think they are the first record of Agriculture. The worst of this lot are convinced that it was a fig that Eve used to seduce Adam, not an apple. After all, apples weren’t common in the ancient paths near Jericho. Figs were. Shouldn’t we all agree that Eve and Adam covered their shame with fig leaves?

Most figs are tropical jungle plants but some edge their way into territories that facing freezing temperatures. In the modern world, they are common as houseplants. From giant banyan trees of Asia to houseplant staples to small leafed groundcovers, Ficus wins. Only two species might be considered major food crops. Ficus sycomoro (a long term fail at SFA Gardens), and then there’s F. carica (the common edible fig).

Fig plots at SFA Gardens

TYPES OF FIGS:

Figs are complicated. The fruit we eat is actually a flower inside a structure called a syconium with male flowers above the female with pollen spread by a wasp who enters the structure through a hole called an ostiole.

Caducous — Smyrna figs: Need to be pollinated to mature fruit. Without pollination the fruit will drop before it matures. Smyrna figs must be grown in the presence of Caprifigs and pollinating insects to bear fruit.

Intermediate — San Pedro figs: Do not need to be pollinated to set a breba (first) crop but do need pollination to set the main crop.

Persistent — common figs: Do not need to be pollinated to bear fruit. This is what is referred to as the common garden fig.

VARIETIES – SFA Gardens is in the early stages of a large variety trial. We are working with Allen Owings at the LSU Hammond station to create a duplicate germplasm repository of varieties and to evaluate their performance over many years.

PLANTING – Choose a well drained site. Spacing at not less than 16’ apart – can have various configurations. While figs appreciate moist soil, waterlogged conditions are not good. A surface or subsurface drainage system, berms or raised beds may be a good idea. Plant in the early spring in East Texas. We like to plant big healthy one to three gallon plants . After planting, mulch lightly with pine bark, straw or other matierials.

IRRIGATION – Critical to good plant growth in most sites.We use daily drip, one emitter per plant on young plants, multiples on older plants. Ours are ½ gph emitters and a couple of hours per day and off on rain days.

FERTILIZATION – In most soils, a complete fertilizer spread lightly every month or two in a circle around the plant, and well away from the crown of the plant is prudent. Young plants respond to Nitrogen. Soil tests will indicate the need for P, K or other elements.

PRUNING – We lean to a minimalist approach. Never prune until after the winter when you can see what was knocked back and what is still alive. Remove the dead wood only, except perhaps to cut back low hangers and on the ground branching which will provide an unobstructed view of the base of the plant – for chemical weed control applications, mainly.

DISEASES/INSECTS – Very sandy well drained soils may be a nematode problem. In some years, rust can be difficult. Birds, critters and friends can take out a crop quick.

PROPAGATION – Easy by cuttings. June July and Aug cuttings under mist root quickly. Hardwood cuttings stuck in well drained circumstances and kept moist root well most winters. I used to tell students that if they couldn’t root a fig they needed to change majors.

FREEZE PROTECTION – Hard winter freezes are the big problem. Single digit events can take figs back to or near the ground. If just a few trees, packing mulch, pinestraw, and any other insulating materials into a ring around the tree helps. Homeowners can position trees on the South side of heated buildings to get some relief from low temps.

This dogwood from Mexico is rarely seen in the U.S. It differs from the common dogwood of the southern USA by having bracts that hold together at their tips, forming a open-sided lantern that protects yet exposes the flower parts. Unique is the word most often used to describe the bloom. Our specimen bloomed for the first time in mid to late March, 2006. While it bloomed profusely and the weather was moderate, flowers failed to set any seed. Since that time we have made seed and produced young plants for further plantings (Gayla Mize Garden) and for distribution. While difficult to find in the specialty nursery trade, this small flowering tree is worth the effort. Implications for breeding are encouraging and we are hoping to conduct some grafting trials to attempt an improvement in plant numbers. Our original tree was killed in 2015 by excessive flooding in the Ruby Mize Azalea Garden but we have six young trees in the Gayla Mize Garden in better drained soils and part shade.

This cloud forest Mexico oak is rarely encountered in the USA. It is native to East and N.E. Mexico, usually found at 800-1800 m. (2625-5905 ft.). The species reaches 25 m. (82 ft.) tall, but should be smaller in cultivation. We have two Royal oaks over ten years old and have been distributing acorns to interested nurserymen.

Leaves are lustrous, green, and glabrous, 9-13 cm. (3.5-5.1 in.) long and 3-5 cm. (1.2-2.0 in.) wide. Leaves are persistent or semi-evergreen, oblong to oboval or oblanceolate. Acorns are large and can be up to 4-5 cm. (1.6-2.0 in.) long and 2-3 cm. (.8-1.2 in.) wide, and single on a short peduncle. Prior to maturing, almost the entire nut is enclosed by a warty, pubescent cup. Two trees in the SFA Gardens have experienced winter freeze events less than -12oC (10oF) with only minor foliage damage. While wet mountainous forests describe the native habitat, the species appears quite heat and drought tolerant once well established.

Acorns germinate readily for us, quickly forming a vigorous tap root, before sending up a shoot. We have learned over the years that the young plants are very susceptible to overwatering. We suspect the tree will be hardy in Zones 8 and 9, and deserve testing in colder zones as well.

It is best to harvest acorns while they are still attached to the trees as weevils infest acorns on the ground quickly. The acorn above not ready. We have also observed vivipary (germination while still attached to the tree). Acorns should be harvested from tree, not from ground. Weevils are quick in Texas. We recommend that they be sown in the fall and the emerging seedling should be protected from freezing temperatures that first winter. The young seedlings must be grown on the dry side and are prone to damping off if overwatered.

‘Calina’ is a rarely encountered holly thought to be a hybrid of I. aquifolium x I. cornuta. While its origin is unknown, this clone is thought to have come from seedlings purchased from LeMac Nursery by W. Edinglob; selected and named around 1938, and the name is thought to be a contradiction of Carolina.

At the SFA Gardens, for two decades we’ve been impressed with this densely branched, upright pyramidal tree. Time has been a good friend to this tree. On the North side of the Horticulture facility by the Ag building, this tree is part of a Holly screen that runs along the road to the parking lot. The key feature is a very heavy berry crop in the Fall that persists into the winter. In this spot, ‘Calina’ has spent much of her life fighting a Wisteria ‘Sweet Blue Moon’. There were a few times when the Wisteria was winning. A little lopper time and things were back to a fair and balanced field. This clone can be used as a hedge or as a specimen. Blessed with really clean dark green foliage, ‘Calina’ has never failed to cover itself each fall with a blanket of large vivid-red berries. ‘Calina’ is reported to be adapted into Zone 7 and has established a reputation for heat tolerance and landscape durability in the southeastern United States. It’s easy from cuttings in June with intermittent mist and somewhat slow to moderately vigorous growth in the container compared, at least compared to other hybrids that dominate the industry. In our Zone 8 garden, Calina can be planted in full sun and prefers a well-drained soil, mulch and timely irrigation during the first two or three years. Once established the tree has been quite durable in our East Texas Zone 8b garden.

‘Lord Byron’ is a fascinating hybrid of V. obovatum (Walter’s Viburnum) and V. rufidulum (Rusty Black Haw). Created by the great plantsman and friend Paul Cox of the San Antonio Botanical Garden, and named after his son, this interesting cross has performed well at SFA Gardens, Nacogdoches, Texas for many years.

Worth further study in a wide range across the south, this plant features pleasing mid-March flowers and is essentially evergreen in our garden. The plant can make a nice hedge with one annual pruning to keep the plant in tip top shape. The suckering habit suggests planting where this can be kept in check by mowing, a trail, etc. In the middle of a lawn that’s frequently mowed is not a bad spot. Heidi Sheesley has a nice specimen at TreeSearch Farms in Houston, TX., a tree form which takes a little work in the first few years. Keep in mind that ‘Lord Byron’ alone in a bed alongside other plant friends, well, this fellow tends to win.

The leaves are intermediate between the small leaves of Walter’s Viburnum and Rusty Blackhaw. In full sun, ‘Lord Byron’ is happiest, never failing to push a cloak of dark green leaves and showy white flowers. This clone is easy from cuttings taken in June and placed under mist. Because the plant suckers from the root system, it’s fairly easy to propagate good numbers simply by digging suckers and a portion of the attached root system. I suspect the plant can be propagated by root cuttings as well.